Blackstone Valley Xpress October 22, 2021

4 Blackstone Valley Xpress• www.blackstonevalleyxpress.com • October 22, 2021
Southwick’s Zoo steps into fall in a blaze of light
By Rod Lee
No one would have
dreamed, four or five years
ago, that any creatures but
the live ones already present
would have a home at
Southwick’s Zoo in Mendon.
Here in the fall of 2021 a
far different scenario has
emerged, courtesy of Southwick’s
first-ever “Festival of
Illumination,” in which stationary,
larger-than-life, lighted
model animals assume
a place alongside their celebrated
living and breathing
counterparts on the paths of
the Southwick and Brewer
families’ venerable complex.
The roar of a resident
lion that could be heard
piercing the otherwise allencompassing
quiet during
an opening reception for the
Festival of Illumination on
the evening of September 22
seemed to at least one observer
to sound like a wail of
protest; as if the king of the
jungle was saying “how dare
you imposters crowd your
way onto our grounds?”
But there they were in all
their glory—bears and elephants
and alligators and
giraffes, even a dragon—in
what the Zigong Lantern
Group (the industry leader
in Chinese lantern festivals
around the world) touts as
a spectacular one-of-a-kind
“cultural and artistic expression.”
Introduced at the VIP
gathering beneath a tent just
above the main entrance to
the zoo as the person who
“spearheaded this Festival of
Illumination project,” Cindy
Brewer Lavoie described the
event as “where East meets
A dragon is one of many illuminated replica animals that
will be on display at Southwick’s Zoo this fall.
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Southwick’s Zoo Matriarch Justine Brewer prepares to cut the ribbon, capping the kickoff for the Festival of Illumination.
West” and, in addressing
having worked with Zigong
to put the display together
added “we have finally
made it to the destination.
This is a partnership that I
truly believe will last a lifetime.”
Getting emotional,
Ms. Lavoie, who is one of
zoo matriarch Justine Brewer’s
five children, said, in
reference to the continents
involved in the exhibit, “we
told ourselves if we couldn’t
visit our planet (during a
pandemic), we’ll bring [the
planet] to you.”
The Festival of Illumination
is open to the public
and will run all fall into
winter, through January 3,
2022. Combined with Southwick’s
regular holiday lights
show in December and the
continued availability of the
gift shop, which will remain
open, the zoo has thus taken
a step toward transforming
itself from a seasonal operation
to almost a year-round
business. Included in this
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array of offerings is Galliford’s,
the zoo’s on-theproperty
restaurant.
In his own remarks to
the audience, Justin Corsa,
who is CEO of Zigong, said
the company “is the largest
exporter of lantern art in all
of China,” with headquarters
“locally in Orlando, Florida.”
Several years ago, Mr. Corsa
said, “we made attempts
to find a location in New
England” for the Festival of
Illumination. “Most sites we
looked at didn’t have the
confidence to do this. Three
years ago we met Southwick’s
Zoo and the lean but
incredibly capable people”
who run this establishment.
“Not a single responsibility
they were asked to undertake
phased them. They fulfilled
their duties admirably.
I can’t imagine working with
any other partner in New
England.”
In what will certainly
come as a welcome news
to fans of the Festival of Illumination,
Mr. Corsa said
“we will bring a brand-new
design every year.”
Mr. Corsa could not resist
pointing out what an enormous
achievement creating
the Festival at Southwick’s
was, “during a hugely challenging
year, to bring product
overseas in a pandemic, with
shipping issues and many
other hurdles” to deal with.
Echoing Mr. Corsa’s positive
assessment of future
possibilities for the Festival,
Ms. Lavoie said “we have a
three-year contract and who
knows from there.”
State Sen. Ryan Fattman
summed up what many in
attendance were thinking
when he commended the
Brewer family for their careful
and conscientious management
of the property. “I
got to know Justine around
ten years ago and she said
at that time that she had five
kids and I thought ‘that’s
good preparation for running
a zoo!’” Sen. Fattman
said. “Southwick’s Zoo is a
true institution of the Black-
stone Valley, a combination
of culture and commerce.
My wife and I are on a date
night this evening. We didn’t
tell our three children we
were coming here! To have
run a family-run business for
fifty-six years, you have to
be doing something right!”
For Betsey Brewer Bethel,
the Festival of Illumination
opens the door to even
greater success for Southwick’s
and her herculean
efforts to save endangered
and threatened species. “Do
you know what day it is?”
she asked the crowd. “It’s
World Rhino Day!” Noting
that someone from Chestnut
Hill had raised $1200 toward
the cause (“and his little
sister saved her tooth fairy
money”), she said “hopefully
my EARTH program
will expand in the next few
years and we’ll have a learning
center.”
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Contact Rod Lee at
rodlee.1963@gmail.com
or 774-232-2999.
Chinese lanterns lit the way for patrons of an opening reception for Southwick’s Zoo’s firstever
Festival of Illumination. The event runs all fall, into early January.